Best Outdoor Apps

Many romanticize the great outdoors as a tech-free frontier to escape the hectic pace of our hyper-connected daily lives. Truth is, a little helpful technology never hurt anyone – in fact it can significantly enhance your wilderness adventures. Check out the best mobile apps to take on your next trek.

IBIRD EXPLORER [iOS + Android]

If bird spotting is your outdoor calling then you will find the iBird range of apps immensely useful. If you’ve caught sight of a species you can’t pinpoint off the top of your head iBird offers a hugely comprehensive search functions that can call up photos, location-based information and even recorded bird songs.

The range varies from a free Lite version through to a US$14.99 Pro edition what would make a stack of encyclopedias blush.

TRAILHEAD [iOS]

Developed by one of the outdoors most dependable names, North Face, Trailhead is a one-stop shop for hiking and biking tracks across the planet. you can freely search through a staggering library of trails prioritized by your current location and customized by activity, length and intensity. With GPS functions you can also chart your progress in real time and record or share your stats online.

PROJECT NOAH [iOS + Android]

A brilliant {and free} wilderness – focused social app to hook kids into the wonders of nature, Project Noah turns anyone with a smartphone into a ‘citizen scientist"’.

In Spotting mode you can geo-tag photos of interesting plants and animals and upload them with relevant notes, then access the Field Guide and explore the finds of others in your area. You can even partake in Field Missions where you gather data for real-world ecology projects being run by the app’s partner organizations.

STAR WALK [iOS]

You can’t do the outdoors thing without a little stargazing thrown in, but sometimes the simple act of craning your head to the sky just isn’t an option. For those who refuse to let circumstance get in the way of amateur astrology, Star Walk has you covered.

The program picks up your location and projects a beautifully detailed map of the very stars above your head. You can search for specific points, zoom and scroll, as well as speed up time to see how the cosmos will morph in coming days. The US$2.99 iPhone edition is great but the more expansive US$4.99 iPad version is better.